and this morning, winter's wrath. >> dramatic dmangs the weather to end the holiday weekend. rain in the west, as a major snowmaker churns toward the great lakes and the northeast, a region digging out yet again. breaking overnight, a country star's suicide, mindy mccready is found dead. historic prices. gasoline selling at historic highs. no clear reason for the increases. marco rubio is raking in serious bucks. don't spare him a swipe by

"saturday night live." happy presidents' day, everyone. we begin with a powerful storm about to sweep across much of the country. >> it's blowing in from the pacific ocean tonight. heavy rain, hail, and a foot of mountain snow in california. the storm will stretch to the nation's midsection. florida braces for another frigid morning. and new england digging out from yet another storm. with wind gusts out of the north gusting up to 50 or 60 miles an hour, some northeast state, buried by historic snowfall are getting another arctic blast. maine getting the worst of it. >> blowing snow can make visibility zero.

>> reporter: eight inches on the coast and more inland. in cape cod, cars are still buried in snow banks from the last storm. more worries about coastal damage. on new york's long island, plows and salt trucks tried to keep up with rapidly changing conditions. connecticut towns waiting for federal relief money from the last storm are seeing snow removal costs add up. >> anywhere from $20,000 to $50,000 a day. >> reporter: the harsh temperatures put florida naerms disaster mode. the northeast is not alone. miserable conditions hit the great lakes, heavy lake-effect snow fell on northeast ohio. >> i was up in the middle of the night, it looked like a blizzard outside. >> reporter: another nasty dose of wirnt hits the nation with spring still more than a month

away. come on, spring. hurry up. that northeast storm is moving into canada. drivers can still expect blinding snow today. >> we get more from accuweather meteorologist jim dickey. >> blizzard warnings remain in evident until 4:00 p.m. in some cases, bangor eastward. the snow winding down, but we'll see blowing and drifting snow. cold here. across the northeast this morning, many spots in the single digits. 9 in syracuse. 12 in buffalo. the threat of severe weather in the lower mississippi valley late in the day. stay with us for "good morning america," sam champion will have the laits on the stormy weather tapped deep freeze. now to a story breaking overnight. the tragic death of country star mindy mccready. the troubled singer took her on

life yesterday. here's abc's that mahman bradle. >> reporter: authorities found the body of mindy mccready on her front porch. the same place they found the body of her boyfriend last month. she soared to the top of the charts in mid-'90s. in recent year, more focused attention on her personal life and that singing. >> when something happened to me, it was readily available to go and drink too much. >> reporter: she struggled mightily with substance abuse, even appearing on "celebrity rehab" with dr. drew. she went through a tough custody battle with her own mother other the custody of her son.

mccready abducted a child and despite a court order, refused to return him. >> think that is part of the issue in florida, was this really an abduction? in miss mccready's mind, it wasn't. >> don't understand that mindy gets away with telling all these lies. >> reporter: shortly after her boyfriend's death last month, she was ordered to enter rehab. and her two children were taken from her. now it looks like she's ended her own life. tahman bradley, abc news. >> thank you, nan. the pope will be behind closed door this is week for the traditional lenten prayer. benedict's hearing has deteriorated. he appeared to have even gone blind in his left eye. his body is so thin, tailors had

a hard time with his clothing. a reporter said he's never seen the pope so exhausted looking. there are new details about friday's meteor strike in central russia. scientists are confirming the first fragments have been located. found near a hole in a frozen lake where a big chunk landed. some so-called meteor piece, with no proof they're the real deal, have appeared on ebay. now to the immigration reform. republicans and democrats alike are predicting president obama would fail if he pushes forward with his own plan. illegal immigrants would be able to get a green card in eight years. top republican law maikers don't like that. >> by giving advantage for those who cut in line ahead of those

coming here legally, he's looking for a partisan advantage. >> the white house says the president would push his own plan only if lawmakers can't get the job done. police tape where one woman was murdered in chicago. six others wounded. this woman's sister was on stage with the president just six hours prior. after chicago, the president headed to florida, where he had a golf date yesterday with, tiger woods. they played at the exclusive club where mr. obama spent the weekend. it was the first time the president played with woods. he was overheard telling woods at one point that it's good to see him playing well again. imagine what do the president and tiger woods chat about on the links. i would like to be a fly on that, putt, i guess. prices going up on things

you need. gas, food. is there any relief in sight. and new developments in the murder investigation of oscar pistorius. his girlfriend's mother breaking her silence. and a major distiller caves to public pressure, reversing a call.

and welcome back. the experts are scratching their heads over a gasoline mystery. prices are still soaring, now at $3.71 gallon, an increase of 13 cents in the past week. the short answer is that oil prices are up and some blame

speculation. but there's no clear answer as to why. beef prices are also going up, possibly as much as ten cent bis this sum person american cattle herds are at the smallest in six decades because feed prices are up. mow the beef industry is worried its product may get too expen expensi expensive. airline fares are not going up for now. delta raised prices last week. no other carrier went along, so delta rolled back the fare hike. airlines are worried about the economy and the effects of the american and u.s. airways big merger. major distillery has heard your protests. mark's mark bourbon will not lower the alcohol content. beginning this morning, bottles will be back to 90 proof. the company heard thousands of bourbon drinkers. the latest "died hard" movie

lived well. "a good day to die hard" is the fifth install nmt the bruce willis action series that, believer it or not, began in 1988, 25 years ago. and sweetly, it took in $25 million over the weekend. "identity thief" right behind and "safe haven" in third. coming up next on this monday, the shocking slap. an airline passenger hitting the toddler next to him. now he's out of a job. and from kobe to king james, an all-stop wrap up from the nba opinion [ male announcer ] how do you measure happiness?

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some blowing snow across northern new england. >> if you're flying, airport delays possible in new york, boston, minneapolis, chicago, detroit, st. louis, memphis, houston, and new orleans. and new this morning, a mother's anguish. we're hearing from the mother of reeva steenkamp for the first time since her daughter was found dead on valentine's day. >> june steenkamp wondering why her daughter had to die. >> reporter: an explosive life support in major south african newspaper. the are theed city press says multiple police sources say a bloody cricket bat found in the home after the shooting of his cover model girlfriend is a key piece of evidence, possibly used in an argument leading up to her

fatal shooting. police officials refuse to discuss the claim. >> i can promise you, with the knowledge i've got, he'll come up right. >> reporter: and now controversy over the premier of a reality show reeva steenkamp has recently taped. a special tribute, but under fire for cruising the last words on her series. >> the way you grow up, not only the journey in the life, the way you grow up, makes an impact in a positive or negative way. >> reporter: some south africans have called for the series to be canceled. but the family wants her memory to live on on national tv. bazi kanani, abc news. >> in addiction to asking why her daughter had to die, her mother says reeva loved like no

one else could love. she called her the most beautiful person who ever lived. reeva steenkamp's funeral is tomorrow. we're learning more about the troubled back ground of newtown shooting adam lanza. he was diagnosed with a sensory disorder, was very shy, and liked to be touched only by his mother. as for the exposure to guns, his mother, nancy, loved shooting simply because it helped her bond with her son. a fire has destroyed to homes on captiva island. the first home was engulfed by flames when the first firefighters arrived. others came by boat. it took them five hours to put the flames out. >> a story that's angered many parents across the country. man charged with slapping a toddler, yes, slapping a toddler on an airline flight is now out

of a job. joe huntly is no longer an employee of the company in idaho. he plans to plead not guilty to the charge. the toddler's mother says he was drunk and belligerent before using a racial slur and then slapping her child. race car driver danica patrick can look forward to more attention than usual this week. she's the top qualifying for next sunday's daytona 500. she won the pole yesterday. slooes the first woman ever to qualify first on nascar's top circuit. and now for some hoops, including the defensive struggle known as the nba all-star game. welcome in to your "sportscenter" update. i'm chris hassel.

first quarter, dwyane wade, to james off the glass. second quarter, an l.a. connection. koeb bebryant to blake griffin. fourth quarter, rejection. ko kobe on lebron. 2:00 left, chris paul taking over. 20 points, 15 assists. only the third player in all-star game history to do that. magic and isaiah, the other two. paul the mvp. college hoops, number three, miami, 11-0 getting a battle from clemson. devin booker, dunk me. clemson up two with under 4:00 to go. roper in transition. clemson up two, under 1:00 to play. kenny kaji for the lead. miami up one. clemson, a chance to win it.

but the shot goes begging. miami holds on, 45-43, now 12-0 in the acc. and that's what happened on sunday. i'm chris hassel. have great day. coming up next, "the pulse" this morning. funny stuff. "saturday night live" takes on marco rubio's now famous case of dry mouth. and the barbecue sauce broman bromance. a reunion you've good to see. [ female announcer ] going to sleep may be easy, but when you wake up in the middle of the night it can be frustrating. it's hard to turn off and go back to sleep. intermezzo is the first and only prescription sleep aid approved for use as needed in the middle of the night when you can't get back to sleep. it's an effective sleep medicine you don't take before bedtime. take it in bed only when you need it and have at least four hours left for sleep.

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talking about on this presidents' day monday. >> we remember this image from last week. marco rubio gulping a quick drink while delivering the gop response to the state of the union address. >> he's raised more than $100,000 by selling water bottles for $25 apiece. he even inspired a "saturday night live" skit. in this spoof, he was invited to give the speech again. >> for much of human history -- for much of human history -- >> are you sure you don't want a little bit of water. >> i'm fine, i'm fine. for much of human history people were trapped this in -- where n would -- >> i'm sorry. it's so much worse when you don't have water. >> i need water!

why did i eat cinnamon? >> yeah, why did you eat cinnam cinnamon? it's right here. it's right here. it's back where you were. >> oh, that's awesome. and proof this morning that former heavy weight champs know how to put on a show. this one in chicago, where evander holyfield was out th to his new barbecue sauce. >> mike tyson showed up. >> they look downright chummy. look that. >> look that cheesy smile. that's true love. >> oh, man, that's a great shot. here's your ear back. thank you, man. for some of you, your local news is m cog up next. for everyone else, the

preparations for oscar. the big night, now less than a week away. stay with us, everybody. at a dry cleaner, we replaced people with a machine. what? customers didn't like it. so why do banks do it? hello? hello?! if your bank doesn't let you talk to a real person 24/7, you need an ally. hello? ally bank. your money needs an ally. the intense ache made it hard to do the things that i wanted. my doctor diagnosed it as fibromyalgia -- thought to be the result of over-active nerves that cause chronic, widespread pain. lyrica is believed to calm these nerves. i learned lyrica can provide significant relief from fibromyalgia pain. so now, i can do more of the things i enjoy. lyrica is not for everyone. it may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions.

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neutrogena®. updating our top stories now. an aubs is expected to confirm that country singer mindy mccready took her own life. her body was found on the porch of her arkansas home. she had struggled with alcohol and drug issues. a report is claiming benedict is blind in his left eye and losing her hearing. and stones found around a hole in a frezen lake did come from friday's meteor strike. it was traveling 46,000 miles an hour when it crashed. rain in the pacific northwest. blizzard conditions to the michigan area. and finally from us this morning, it's almost oscar time.

preparations are fully under way in hollywood for the ceremony, which you can see sunday night here on abc. >> the grand stands that will hold cheering fans are up on hollywood boulevard. before the drama unfolds on stage, oscar is taking a trip. brandi hitt has the story. ♪ >> reporter: for the first time ever, oscar is on a road trip. >> you want to hold an oscar? >> reporter: the 8 1/2-pound golden statue is on a three-week adventu adventure. >> very heavy. >> oh, yeah, i like it. >> reporter: and taking photos with celebrities. ♪ people who love oscar >> reporter: oscar's road trip started in new york on "good morning america." >> he's going to be traveling around the country. >> reporter: then, the little gold guy hit the road. stopping in philadelphia, washington, and baltimore, with you, the fans, deciding where

the escorts stopped along the way. >> you want us at your wedding, we'll go to your wedding. >> bar mitzvahs. >> funerals. grammy's birthday. >> reporter: there have beenn some high-profile stops. and places where fans have been practicing acceptance speeches. >> so many people i would like to thank. >> reporter: after getting taste of chicago's famous pizza, it stopped in st. louis, kansas city, dallas, houston. and you can suggest where angie and ben take oscar in phoenix by going to oscarroadtrip.com. the stach chu will cross the derts and end here in hollywood, just the time for sunday. >> hope oscar has a little purel. that's what's